Pleasant Valley, NY Becomes the 21st Locality to Opt-In to GCE
Housing Justice for All celebrated the second anniversary of the historic Good Cause Eviction Protections (GCE), which passed in the 2024 state budget on April 20. Good Cause Eviction expanded protections against unreasonable rent increases and evictions without cause to over a million New York tenants. More than 20 upstate cities and towns have opted-in since the legislation was passed, including Pleasant Valley, NY, which voted to adopt GCE yesterday.
Last night, the Town of Pleasant Valley became the 21st upstate locality to opt-in to Good Cause Eviction Protections in a bipartisan 3-2 vote. Pleasant Valley joined other regional towns including Fishkill, Hudson, Poughkeepsie (city and town), Kingston, Beacon, and New Paltz. Pleasant Valley is a rural Hudson Valley town, which voted for Donald Trump in 2024.
“Passing Good Cause Eviction affirms that a significant share of our residents—roughly 25%, are a valued part of our community. In 2025, voters made their support for this policy unmistakably clear. Tonight, we honored that mandate and delivered on the promise made on election night,” said Pleasant Valley Town Board Member Dan Degan.
Good Cause Eviction protects tenants from predatory rent hikes and unjust evictions and guarantees lease renewals to tenants who’ve been paying rent and following their lease. Good Cause requires landlords to have a “good cause,” such as non-payment or violating the lease, to remove a tenant, and it also allows tenants to challenge rent hikes that are more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) + 5% (8.38% outside of the NYC Area as of April 2025) or 10%, whichever is lower.
“More than a million New York tenants now have the ability to renew their lease at a reasonable rent – a historic expansion of tenants rights. Now, communities around the state are voting to adopt Good Cause Eviction because high rents are displacing our neighbors and hurting our communities. But too many people are still struggling to stay in their homes while landlords look for opportunities to raise rents and line their pockets. Localities need more tools, like the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants (REST) Act, to preserve affordable housing and stabilize communities. Tenants are organized and we’re fighting to make rent affordable and defend our homes,” said Housing Justice for All Coalition Director Sumathy Kumar.
The Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants (REST) Act, sponsored by Senate Housing Chair Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, would make rent affordable across New York by allowing communities to adopt rent stabilization and decide who is covered. Rent stabilization creates housing stability by requiring lease renewals and giving a local rent board the task of setting annual limits on rent increases.
Right now, outdated state law makes it expensive and difficult for communities to adopt rent stabilization – and when they try, landlords sue to overturn the protection. Cities like Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Albany, Newburgh, and Nyack have all been blocked from protecting their tenants. The REST Act would clear away legal barriers and shield cities from frivolous landlord lawsuits. It would also allow localities to expand protections by bringing buildings built in the last 15 years into rent stabilization and covering buildings as small as 4 units.
Housing affordability has become a defining issue for voters – statewide polling shows an overwhelming majority of voters regardless of party, 69%, would be more likely to support a candidate who backs rent stabilization.
“Small towns like Pleasant Valley are not immune from corporate landlords buying up properties and using loopholes to displace local people to maximize profits. At the public hearing for this law, we had a packed room. I was proud to vote the way the vast majority of residents asked me to vote: with the 79 percent who spoke or wrote letters or signed petitions because they favored the law passing. They are small landlords, renters, and concerned neighbors who prioritized the values of safety and stability for our families and community,” said Megan Borland, Pleasant Valley Town Board Member.
“Tonight, I voted in favor of Good Cause Eviction because I believe our community should be a place where people can live with stability, dignity, and fairness. This measure is about balance. It protects tenants from unjust evictions and unreasonable rent increase, while still respecting the rights of property owners. We took a thoughtful step in preserving neighborhood stability and ensuring working families, seniors, and long term residents are not forced out of the community they call home. I understand that this issue brings strong opinions on all sides, and I respect those perspectives. But ultimately, I believe this policy reflects our shared values: fairness, accountability, and a commitment to keeping our community livable for everyone,” said Michael Riffenburgh, Pleasant Valley Town Board Member.
###Housing Justice for All is a statewide coalition of more than 80 organizations representing tenants and homeless New Yorkers, united in our fight for housing as a human right.
